Will heat pumps make my energy bills cheaper?
The government is reportedly set to scrap a ban on new gas boilers in the next 10 years.
The government is reportedly set to drop a plan to ban new gas boilers by 2035.
A proposal that would have prevented homeowners from replacing their existing gas boilers with new ones from 2035 has been scrapped, according to The i paper.
However, the newspaper said a ban on gas boilers being installed in new homes will still be announced later this year and will take effect before the end of the decade.
The plans come amid a growing government drive to make more UK homes adopt heat pumps - which are powered by electricity, instead of fossil fuels - so that nearly all homes in the UK will, at some point, have installed one.
Experts have said the country needs to install 19 million heat pumps to help the UK achieve its net-zero goal.
Here, Yahoo News UK explains what heat pumps are, how much they cost, whether they save money on bills and how homeowners can apply for installation grants.
How much do they cost and do they save money on bills?
Only 1% of homes in the UK have a heat pump, which are currently much more expensive to buy and install than a conventional boiler.
The government does have a grant scheme that gives households £7,500 off the cost of buying one. But even with that grant included, they can still cost thousands.
British Gas, for example, says: "Many homes do need extra work to get the best performance from a heat pump. After the £7,500 government grant, the average price for our customers in 2023 was £5,690."
This compares to a gas boiler, which Checkatrade says costs an average of £3,000.
It is believed prices will go down, but some experts say this will only go so far. Mike Foster, of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, told This is Money last year: "The only area where costs might come down is when installers get used to fitting more heat pumps and can do it a bit quicker, so labour costs might come down."
In terms of bill savings, the Energy Saving Trust says this depends on the type of system the heat pump is replacing. If it's an old gas boiler, average savings are currently £290 a year. But if it's a new gas boiler, the heat pump will actually be £3 a year more expensive.
However, the trust adds that "as energy prices fluctuate over time, we expect that heat pumps will become the cheapest as well as the lowest carbon form of heating available".
How do you apply for a heat pump grant?
By contacting an MCS-certified installer. Once the installer has confirmed your eligibility, it will apply for the grant on your behalf to Ofgem.
Eligibility depends on two things. You must own the property you’re applying for, and be replacing a fossil fuel heating system such as oil, gas, electric or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).
The application process is set out on the government's website.
What are the different types of heat pumps?
There are two: air source and ground source.
Air source heat pumps, as per the Energy Saving Trust, are the most common. They absorb "heat energy from outside air blown across a heat exchanger using fans. Although the air is cool in the winter, there’s still plenty of energy available because of the large volume of air that passes over the heat exchanger."
Ground source pumps are more expensive and better suited to households with large outdoor spaces. They work by gathering "gather heat energy from the ground by circulating a water-antifreeze mixture through underground pipes. This is pumped to a heat exchanger inside the house or an outbuilding."
What is the government's pledge?
The UK's Committee on Climate Change has said that, in order to hit our net zero commitments, 19 million heat pumps will need to be installed and that hybrid heat pumps should be widely used by 2035.
Net zero means the UK cutting its emissions to help reach a point whereby the amount of greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere is balanced by their removal from the atmosphere. The government's target is to hit net zero by 2050
The previous Conservative government had said it would ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035, so anyone looking to replace their boiler after that would have to buy a heat pump.
Then prime minister Rishi Sunak later reined in the plan, aiming for only an 80% phase-out of gas boilers by 2035.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband had suggested before the election that a Labour government would drop the plan and instead focus on persuading people to install heat pumps.
In an interview with The Telegraph in June, he said: "We haven’t stuck with the 2035 target when you can’t replace your gas boiler. I know that we’ve got to show that heat pumps are affordable and are going to work for people."
Now it has been reported that this plan will be scrapped altogether, allowing homeowners to replace their gas boiler with another one after 2035.
Government ‘nudge unit’ to dispel heat pump myths
On Wednesday, The Guardian reported a “nudge unit” has been tasked with fighting misinformation about heat pumps, with the government awarding a £100,000 contract to the Behavioural Insights Team.
The paper reported the contract as saying: "Information about heat pumps is being shared by the media and stakeholders, which may be skewed to negative, incorrect or exaggerated stories of heat pump adoption."
It added that stories “are generally well-founded, such as believing that heat pumps are expensive” but some reporting has included "misconceptions" such as pumps not working properly in the cold.
